


The Promise He Couldn't Keep

by Rokaje



Category: Umineko no Naku Koro ni | When the Seagulls Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21984955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rokaje/pseuds/Rokaje
Summary: Umineko ruined my life and Sayo deserved better. Episode 8 spoilers.
Relationships: Shannon/Ushiromiya Battler, Ushiromiya Battler/Ushiromiya Beatrice, Ushiromiya Battler/Yasuda Sayo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	The Promise He Couldn't Keep

Ushiromiya Battler never had been amazing at keeping promises. It wasn't like he intended to break them, he just forgot more often than not, even now. Battler was a man of action, of the moment. Asking him to live in the past like that was like asking him to climb a mountain. At least, that's what he'd say if anyone asked why he was so bad at keeping his promises. 

The promise he just made was one he was determined to keep though. He owed her that much, after everything that he'd put her through... What was closing his eyes for a few moments? Quite a lot apparently, as when the gentle touch of her lips to his faded he was already peeking through a cracked lid, receiving a crack on the cheek for his trouble.

Even after everything they'd went through in just these past few hours, he couldn't help but laugh. She was being a little ridiculous! Not like anything bad would happen if they kissed while his eyes were open, and she'd get over the embarrassment right? The more gentlemanly side of things was always more George's thing... His train of thought was quickly thrown from the rails as she pressed a gentle kiss to his earlobe, one that left shivers running down his spine and heat blossoming across his cheeks.

Her voice was more soothing than he could put into words after all this time. She sounded so much different than the servant he greeted when he and his family first arrived on the island. She sounded comfortable. Happy. She sounded like she did all those years ago when they'd spend far too long talking about the mysteries they'd read since they last saw each other, the only unfamiliar part was the confident, exaggerated twist airs she was putting on as "Beatrice, the 3rd Golden Witch." 

Not atoning for her sins and instead rolling with laughter at hundreds of deaths, huh? That sure sounds like something the Golden Witch would do. A little corny, like the line a villain would spout before their plans get foiled. The thought made him smile. 

But, her voice... Her voice was getting further away and further away. Further than it should be getting, actually. The boat was small but... she was definitely too far to smack him if he looked now. But she'd asked him to keep his eyes closed. He should keep them closed, right? A peek wouldn't hurt. She would understand, and if she didn't another smack wouldn't hurt too bad. She'd definitely forgive him if he looked.

His heart sunk, the rosy tinge to his cheeks fading as all the color drained from his face. What was she doing? Her foot was on the edge of the boat, a line of rope leading to the golden bar she was struggling to suspend over the water with both hands. He'd cut her off in the middle of her dramatic speech, the bravado just as quickly fading from her features as her words died in her throat and she stared into his widened eyes. There was no arrogance in the way she looked at him, no cruelty befitting a witch. All he saw was fear. Fear, and a sadness that crushed his heart with its weight. 

Some part of him realized what she was trying to do before his brain could even catch up to what his eyes were seeing. A deep, instinctual part that felt more like the whisper of someone else than his own thoughts. He was reaching for her already by the time the grip she had on the rope grew slack from shock of being caught and the pain in her shoulder. It was like someone had shoved him from behind, the same someone who'd whispered in his ear what he had to do. Save her. Save her! 

The force behind the lunge rocked the boat as Sayo let out a scream, tipping over the back end of the boat not of her own will as she planned but from the sudden movement. 

No!

For a moment, the salted mist of the sea barely tickled the back of her neck as she fell. It was welcoming her, calling her to its depths, inviting her to sink to the bottom for all eternity as a wicked witch such as herself should but... She couldn't accept its invitation as readily as she hoped. The fear on Battler's face filled the newly reborn roots resting within her resurrected heart with unease, tightened their grasp until it seemed like her heart had stopped beating at all. Sayo had to look away, had to close her eyes. She couldn't let his face be the last thing she saw, not when it was twisted in desperation like that.

"I'm sorry, Battl-"

Her whisper found itself silenced just as quickly as her tirade had seconds before. Freedom from her fall came upon her suddenly, forced by a squeeze that threatened to bruise her narrow hips as the waves which had tried to swallow her whole raced by beneath her. There was no tug on her ankle, no encapsulating cold as there should have been. No, she was- she felt warm. 

Tightly screwed lids relaxed slowly as the sound of the world returned to her and brought with it the strained grunts of her prince. Her eyes had opened again, though she couldn't see past the cloudy film of tears. Why? Why did he stop her? She practically killed his family, everyone he loved. She'd even planned to kill him if the epitaph wasn't solved. So why? First he offered her forgiveness she would never deserve and now he risks sinking to the bottom of the ocean with her. Sayo didn't understand. She couldn't understand.

Battler had nearly thrown himself from the ship to stop her fall. One arm had wrapped itself tight around her, pulling her to his chest. If they fell, they'd end up falling together. But they wouldn't fall, not while he had anything to say about it. The other hand wrapped the rope of the gold bar around itself, snatched the brick of pure metal from the air as his whole body pitched to the side from its weight. That was what saved them. His ribs crashed into the side of the boat as he threw both Sayo and the gold bar back toward the middle. The gold clattered noisily as it hit the deck, barely drowned out by Sayo's cry of pain and surprise as her injured shoulder hit the deck. Her weight combined with the golden bar was all kept the boat from capsizing as Battler's own pulled it to the side, a wave crashing over his face as his breath left him while the pain in his side spread. 

Water surged down his throat and salt stung at his face and eyes, violent sputtering all he could muster as he forced himself over to her. He didn't make it the whole way. At least, not on his feet. He collapsed next to Sayo when he reached her, his knees hitting the motorboat's deck hard enough to make the top of his head hurt. It didn't matter though. 

Even choking on the very air he tried to breath, he reached to wrap both arms around her now, to wrap Sayo firmly but carefully in his embrace. To make sure she didn't go overboard again. Her words were a mix of concerned stutters and stunned silence, at least the ones that reached his ears. He'd been the one hit by the wave, but it seems he left her breathless. Ihihi... Dad always said he'd inherit his way with women. 

It was a few seconds before he realized she wasn't saying anything anymore. About as long as it took for him to finally stop coughing and instead just start clearing his throat. He'd pulled the both of them to the center of the boat again as he sat up, resting her head against his shoulder just as it had been when she had fallen asleep earlier, careful not to put too much pressure on the part of her collarbone that was black and blue with hints of purple starting to show. She needed a doctor.

Every breath he took in was shaky. His throat was burning, his eyes were burning, and if the past few days hadn't been stimulating enough the adrenaline rushing through his system would more than make sure he didn't relax until they were on dry land. Even so, he did his best to lower his voice to a gentler tone as her sobs finally reached his ear, as her slender fingers gripped tight at the slightly soaked fabric of his shirt. His voice was scratchy and hoarse, the retching he did to get the sea water out his lungs already showing its effects as he pulled her head a just bit closer. 

What he had to ask of her was selfish. It was selfish and hypocritical and the very last thing he would have said in the moment if he was thinking straight. He should've comforted her, asked her if her shoulder was okay, said basically anything else. But no matter how hard he scattered his thoughts, no matter how many others words he tried to mash together into a soup that'd come somewhere close to a coherent sentence, he could only say one thing.. It was greedy, but it was the only thing he wanted.

"Please, don't go away... Please... Don't leave me alone, Shannon."

Her sobs were slow to quiet, Sayo's face pressing against the already drenched fabric of his shirt with little regard for the salty sting of seawater. Even the pain in her shoulder was nothing now. No no no... This was all wrong. She had ruined everything, ruined him. His promise to help carry her cross had been the final nail in her coffin. Or, it would have been had he not stopped her. She just couldn't keep living, not after all she'd done... His eyes begged her, though. Even with them squeezed tightly shut as he held her, she could feel it. The scream of pain she felt from her core when she first heard of his return. The agonizing clench of those roots around their intertwined fates and hearts. She knew she couldn't keep living, yet she knew had no choice. Even with her cursed body, even with the wretched blood that coursed through her veins. He wouldn't let her take the easy way out of this. 

Slender fingers worked gently at the rope around her ankle, undid the knot that held her to the bar of gold as she melted entirely into his embrace. This was more than she could handle. More than she could bear...

Ushiromiya Battler never had been good at keeping promises in the past. But, it seems now he was determined to keep her.

**Author's Note:**

> This may be expanded on or continued someday. This series wounds me in many wonderful ways after all.


End file.
